


Taunting the Stray

by soprana



Series: Stray Series [3]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Halloween, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 04:04:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17676122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soprana/pseuds/soprana
Summary: “A vampire?” He finished in amusement, shaking his head in good nature as he laughed. “It gets old after a few decades of Halloweens. Plus, I’m a vampire 365 days of the year. This is the only day I can be a ketchup bottle.”





	Taunting the Stray

Halloween.

It used to be just a night to get free candy and dress up in costumes. Then it became a holiday of buying candy to give and going to costume parties as she got older. Now, as a young adult trying to scrape the bottom of the barrel when it came to stretching paychecks, Halloween was just a nightmare.

Lucy now knew about all the things that went bump in the night. Every horror of man, she had discovered about.

Halloween was a night that joked about monsters and demons and now, Lucy knew that it wasn’t a false description.

Still, Cana dragged her out of the safety of her home, gave her a costume kit, and pulled her to the Alberona’s Halloween Bash.

At least on previous Halloween’s, Lucy chose her costume. A bumblebee would have been nice or even a princess.

Not a ‘sexy’ police officer.

The stockings were humiliating but not as much as the tight top that accented her cleavage and left nothing to imagination. She couldn’t move strenuously without fear of popping a button off. Never mind the sultry look of 2 o’ clock makeup that she had no time to touch up.

Now, meshed in a cesspool of fake fog and strange people playing dress up, Lucy felt more like an alien awkwardly standing by the bloody red fruit punch with fake fingers protruding out of the murky depths. Though, the marshmallow cookie teeth treats looked cute as hell, she lost interest in them after having two.

The music pounded in her rib cage, erasing the feeling of her own heart beating. The room was dim. The wigs kept getting crazier and crazier. She just wanted to go home and eat more candy. Still, she saw Levy and Mira earlier, so maybe staying a few more moments to snag a few more candied treats before she hit the road wasn’t so bad. Lucy stayed, for the punch and the people watching.

Nobody told her the punch was spiked. Heavily.

Though it was Cana who hosted the party and it was a 21 and over event, she really should have seen it coming. Lucy was certain the churning vision was caused by the alcohol and maybe the sensations of the bass dropping repeatedly, sending her innards down into her stomach.

Nonetheless, the atmosphere of the party began to seep into her bones and her hips began to sway with the music, cup after cup of punch sloppily passing her lips.

Captain Jack Sparrow gave her a wave as he walked by, hand-in-hand with Regina George. The Power Rangers filtered near to take some of the punch she hoarded with chanting laughter and casual fist bumps. Even a unicorn clopped past, hands appearing out of the middle zipper to grab at the Chex Mix and possibly spilling most of it inside the costume.

Halloween was a great holiday, Lucy thought lightly with a sigh, marveling at how free she felt in her short skirt and flirty up-do. For once, Cana may have done a good thing by bringing her here.

Maybe she might meet the man of her dreams, liquid courage flowing through her blood like hot fuel.

“Whoa Lucy, you’re close to plastered.” A nose brushed across the back of her neck, tickling her hairs and making her shiver in shock. “Or, you’re gonna be in a bit.” A familiar voice purred.

She turned, slowly as to not make the room spin more, and took in the man that she really shouldn’t be happy to see. Yet, she smiled brightly, a flush to her cheeks at his intense stare.

“Oh, Natsu….uh, what are you s'pposed to be?”

He blinked, stepping back to check his own costume with a hint of glee. Solid red with a cone shape hat at the top of his head, he looked absolutely obnoxious with the word 'Heniz 57’ scrawled on the fabric with black permanent marker.

“A ketchup bottle!” He proclaimed proudly, flashing those sharp canines in a friendly smile. His eyes were dark despite the bright color of his costume, pink strands contrasting with the red.

“…bbbbbut, I thought you would dress like-” She began with a slur, blinking slowly.

“A vampire?” He finished in amusement, shaking his head in good nature as he laughed. “It gets old after a few decades of Halloweens. Plus, I’m a vampire 365 days of the year. This is the only day I can be a ketchup bottle.”

Even buzzed, Lucy couldn’t fault his logic. “Fair enough.”

So, she settled for sipping more punch and inspecting his bright face and excited persona in this vibrant atmosphere, body still swaying to the music. To the unknowing eye, he would appear as an idiot ketchup bottle. To her, he was vampire ketchup bottle.

The thought was ludicrous and Natsu startled when she spilled her cup laughing at her mental image. Natsu, the ketchup bottle, rising from a coffin or dangling from rafters like a bat. Holding her belly, bending over the table, the whole thing was quite a sight.

“Oi, you’re pretty weird.” He mumbled, making sure to catch her before she tripped over the table skirt. He felt hot on her skin, and Lucy could have sworn she saw him lick his lips thoughtfully as she leaned over to scoop out more punch. “But that’s why I like you.”

Had she been sober, her instincts would be screaming alarms in her head. He was a creature of the undead that fed on human blood. She had spent months trying to ward him away but ending up befriending him. He was dangerous.

Buzzed Lucy craved danger. Buzzed Lucy also wanted to dance.

She felt him stiffen when her fingers intertwined with his, her thumb brushing over rough knuckles as she smiled up at him, abet too sultry to be considered purposeful. His expression was totally innocent for a supposed 'man killer’, wide eyes and nervous expression.

“Dance with me.” She whispered voice lost under the pounding music.

But, Natsu heard her.

It was kind of funny watching his head jerk back, chin pulling close to his neck as he squinted down at her with scrutiny. She didn’t blame him, but she really didn’t want to dance alone.

Plus, dancing with the vampire that she pretended to loathe but secretly found enticing and attractive sounded pretty fun.

“How about I take this-” He rasped hoarsely, plucking the Solo cup from her fingers and placing it on the nearby table, “-and walk you home?”

He tried, he really did. Lucy wasn’t interested in being sidetracked anyway.

“Nope, I wanna dance.” She purred, stepping close to him and bringing her arms around his neck. Their bodies melted together, her’s made of curves and his stiff and unyielding. She could hear his gulp, her ear near his throat as she leaned most of her weight on him. “I want you to be my partner.”

Something about those words shifted his stance, the tension in his temple defined as he grit his teeth with warring thoughts. All the while, she watched his internal struggle with lidded eyes…and stray glances to her cup of punch.

As she reached for it, he seized her wrist in his hand, gently pulling her away from the spiked punch and out to the dancing mob. “One dance.” He conceded seriously, looking more pained than before. “Then, I’m taking you home.”

Nothing but a steady parade of dirty and less than noble thoughts pranced across Lucy’s thoughts as she smirked knowingly, sidling up against him once he stopped and turned to face her. Those wide eyes were something to behold, expressive and thirsty, a fine line of control on display.

“Taking me home? Natsu, that’s so bold of you~.” She hummed sensually, watching him swallow thickly at the sight of her looking up at him with her shirt so low.

“T-That’s not-!” He yelped, freezing when her index finger pressed against his lips.

His eyes flashed, brows furrowing seriously as she began to move, not taking his gaze off her. There was a heat to him, an inferno that burned deep within as he tried to stiffly mimic her movements. His hands moved to hold her waist, venturing no higher or lower no matter how she rolled her hips.

The police officer and the ketchup bottle. Lucy had to bite her lip to stop the laugh that threatened to bubble up. He looked so out of place, staring intently at her lips as he jolted with his dance moves, a shimmer of emerald flashing in his eyes.

The song shifted, the DJ mixing a more upbeat pop song in, and Lucy tangled her fingers in the pink locks at the nape of his neck before tugging him impossibly close.

She felt his breath hitch, his fingers tightening in grip as he eyed her lips before staring at her exposed neck, tongue darting out to moisten his own lips. His irises flashed green, but he kept his mouth parted, tasting the air around them.

He looked breathless…or maybe turned on? Lucy couldn’t tell.

All she was aware of was the pounding ache in her ribs and the buzz in her blood. Every inch of his sculpted body was against her, moving with her a little more fluidly as seconds ticked by.

By the time he was comfortable enough to move his hips along with hers, his head resting on her shoulder as he breathed into her neck in just the right way, the song came to a close and another began.

Natsu didn’t seem aware of the change, grinding into her with almost as much vigor as herself, though much more controlled. She felt the brush of lips along her neck and shivered with a sigh, pulling at his hair and delighted when he growled warningly into her skin.

The scent of kindle, something she forever will associate with him, filled her nose. His heat burned at her reasoning, every hesitation melting away in the alcohol and the attraction. He was a weird vampire—the only vampire she knew—and someone she couldn’t picture her life without.

Never mind him being a bloodsucking creature. She feared how accustomed she became to his presence, how she craved his touch when this was the first time she had allowed him so close.

The last thing she wanted was her life to turn out like Twilight.

His name fell off her lips in a whisper when those devilish lips parted and she felt teeth. To him, it was an alarm bell.

He snapped taunt, yanking himself away with a guilty frown and longing eyes. His hair was disheveled and less spiky, the red cone hat lopsided. Those sharp eyes were vibrant emerald, raw and untamed hunger under the surface.

Before Lucy could ask, his expression closed to one of stern determination, and she found herself suddenly slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Her screech was lost in the music and the wold whistles, the brisk action causing her stomach to lurch as he carried her through the crowd and to the freedom of the night air. In her haze, she prayed he held her skirt down despite the uncoordinated kicking she pulled.

The man ignored her curses as he walked, taking her down the driveway and down the street, huffing occasionally to himself.

It was all rather boring until he deposited her on her very own doorstep, stone faced as he gestured to the locked door.

To Lucy, Natsu seemed to go deathly pale when she got the hint and fished her house key out of her bra, eyes nearly bugging out of his head when she had her hand down her shirt in the search. She fumbled a little, almost warranting his assistance before she managed to figure out how to turn the key.

As soon as the door swung open, Natsu gently shoved her so she stumbled inside, pursing his lips when she staggered around to glare at him in offense. “There. Take some aspirin and sleep. You are going to be hurting tomorrow.” He declared simply, rolling his eyes when she hiccuped cutely. “Humans and inebriation.” He cursed.

“You can come in-” Lucy muttered drowsily, swaying on her feet the longer she stood stagnant.

A second later and she vaguely recalled that she wasn’t supposed to have said that out loud.

The vampire straightened almost painfully taunt, eyes wide and glowing green, his lips parted to display two perfectly pointy fangs. She could see it clearly, the ravenous need that he commonly displayed before when she teased him at the window. Only now, he trembled where he stood, stuttering a step closer with his eyes locked on her like a predator finding a weakness at last. The light of her porch light shadowed his features ominously, and in her drunken haze, the dull throb of fear jabbed in her chest. No ketchup costume could truly conceal how deadly he could be.

A quickly as it came, Natsu clamped back down on his urges. He froze and blinked with a shake of his head, stepping back to his original spot and panting heavily. At his side, he pinched his thigh mercilessly as he struggled to rein in his desire.

“It’s-” He croaked, “It’s best if I don’t.”

Almost dejectedly, he pulled himself back together, eyes dimming back to polished onyx. “I want you to trust me and entering when you drunkenly invited me isn’t a good way to get that.” With a swallow, he leveled a serious but cocky smirk at her flushed face, his expression down-right tempting.

“When you invite me in, I want it to be because of that trust.”

On that note, he raised a hand and smiled brightly. “I’ll be going now. Make sure you drink some water before bed. You’re going to have one nasty headache tomorrow.”

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and marched down her walkway, not once looking back. Lucy stared after him until he vanished into the shadows of the street before closing her door and nursing her racing heart.

In that moment, she feared him. Still, in that moment, he earned her trust all the same.


End file.
